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Racial Equity and Health Policy

Racism, Discrimination and Health

Changes in Children’s Vaccination Rates by Race and Ethnicity

Data show that children’s vaccination rates, including MMR and seasonal flu vaccines, have declined in recent years largely due to decreases in vaccinations among White and Asian children.

At the same time, and despite the declines among White and Asian children, Black and AIAN children remain least likely to have received recommended childhood vaccinations and the MMR vaccine specifically.

Disappearing Federal Data: Implications for Addressing Health Disparities

State Reported Efforts to Address Health Disparities: A 50 State Review

KFF Survey on Racism, Discrimination and Health: Views on Racism and Trust in Key U.S. Institutions

Designating English as the Official Language of the U.S. Could Affect Millions with LEP

Survey of Immigrants

KFF-New York Times Survey: Immigrants Report Rising Fear, Negative Economic and Health Impacts, and Changing Political Views During the First Year of President Trump’s Second Term

The 2025 Survey of Immigrants, a partnership between KFF and The New York Times, takes an in-depth look at the experiences of immigrants during the first year of President Trump’s second term, including their worries related to increased immigration enforcement, their health and economic wellbeing, and the political views and preferences of immigrant voters. The survey paints a portrait of families under strain — where fear of detention and economic instability are negatively impacting immigrants’ health and reshaping immigrant families’ daily lives and views of U.S. political parties.

Read the News Release | Explore The New York Times’ Reporting

Immigrants

Many Lawfully Present Immigrants Will Lose Health Coverage Due to the 2025 Tax and Budget Law

This policy watch outlines the groups of lawfully present immigrants that will lose access to federally funded health coverage due to new restrictions on eligibility in the 2025 tax and budget law.
It also highlights the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) estimates of the number of lawfully present immigrants who will become uninsured due to the provisions, as well as estimated federal savings that will result.
CBO estimates that the law’s restrictions on eligibility will result in 1.4 million lawfully present immigrants becoming uninsured and reduce federal spending by $131 billion by 2034.

Related: Key Facts on Health Coverage of Immigrants

States Have Enacted or Proposed a Range of Legislation That Will Affect Immigrants’ Access to State-Funded Health Coverage

Health Issues for Immigrants in Detention Centers

Policy Bars Many Immigrants from a Broad Range of Federal Health and Social Supports

Role of Immigrants in the Hospital Workforce

Interactive Timeline

How History Has Shaped Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: A Timeline of Policies and Events

This interactive timeline explores how history has shaped racial and ethnic health disparities and the lasting effects that persist to this day.

The timeline describes major U.S. federal policies and events since the early 1800s that are linked to present-day health disparities. It also covers policies that impact health coverage and access to care, medicine, and social and economic policies that influence health as well as efforts to tackle inequalities.
the Essentials

  • Disparities in Health and Health Care: 5 Key Questions and Answers

    This brief provides an introduction to what health and health care disparities are, why it is important to address them, what the status of disparities is today, recent federal actions to address disparities, and key issues related to addressing disparities in the future.

  • Timeline: How History Has Shaped Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

    This timeline offers a historical view of significant U.S. federal policies and events spanning the early 1800s to today that have influenced present-day health disparities.

  • Health Policy 101: Chapter on Race, Inequality and Health

    Addressing persistent racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care is important for improving the nation’s health and economic prosperity. KFF explains such disparities and the factors that drive them, examines the actions to address them, and outlines future considerations.

  • Key Data on Health and Health Care by Race and Ethnicity

    Racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care remain a persistent challenge in the United States. An updated KFF resource examines how people of color fare compared to White people across 64 measures of health, health care, and social determinants of health.

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  • Racial Disparities in Flu Vaccination: Implications for COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts

    Policy Watch

    With planning beginning for an eventual COVID-19 vaccine, one important consideration is making sure that distribution processes and outreach and communication strategies reach people of color. Analysis of seasonal flu vaccination rates provides some insight into the potential barriers and issues to be addressed as part of COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

  • Loss of the Affordable Care Act Would Widen Racial Disparities in Health Coverage

    Policy Watch

    In November, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on a legal challenge that seeks to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This analysis shows that new coverage options under the ACA have contributed to large gains in coverage, particularly among people of color, helping to narrow longstanding racial disparities in health coverage.

  • Millions of Seniors Live In Households with School-Age Children

    Issue Brief

    About 3.3 million adults age 65 or older live in a household with school-age children, a factor that state and local officials may want to take into account when deciding when and how fully to re-open schools this fall, a new KFF analysis finds.
    These older adults, who represent roughly 6 percent of all seniors in the U.S., live with 4.1 million school age children, who comprise about seven percent of all kids ages 5 to 18, the analysis finds. And the data show that older people of color are significantly more likely to live with a school-age child compared to their White counterparts.

  • KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: December 2020

    Report

    This initial survey for the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor tracks the public’s attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations, with a focus on sub-groups of Americans. It explores confidence in vaccines, assesses trust in messengers, and highlights key challenges for vaccination efforts.

  • New Nationwide Poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Undefeated Reveals Distrust of the Health Care System Among Black Americans

    News Release

    Half of African Americans say they will not take a coronavirus vaccine KFF/The Undefeated poll shows disparate views on health care between Black and white America Poll results published on The Undefeated beginning today The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and The Undefeated have conducted a joint nationwide survey that explores the views and experiences of…

  • An Overview of HIV/AIDS in Black America

    Report

    Black Americans account for more HIV and AIDS cases, people estimated to be living with AIDS, and HIV-related deaths than any other racial/ethnic group in the U.S. Today, Black Americans make up about 12 percent of the U.S. population, but account for half of all new AIDS cases.

  • Pulling It Together: New Orleans Five Years After the Levees Broke

    Perspective

    President Obama's visit to New Orleans on August 29, five years after Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures nearly destroyed the city, presented an opportunity for him to deliver a message on behalf of us all: The country still cares. It was a timely message.

  • Health Care Access and Coverage for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Community in the United States: Opportunities and Challenges in a New Era

    Perspective

    This Policy Insight looks at the challenges and questions surrounding recent policy changes that are expected to increase health insurance coverage and access to care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and their families, including the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Supreme Court's DOMA decision.